Automobile roof carriers have long been known in the art. Such carriers are typically used for carrying and transporting skis, bicycles, luggage, or the like. There are several design difficulties and objectives common to all of such carriers. For example, it is desirable to design a roof carrier that is sturdy and of a lightweight construction, and which can be securely fastened to an automobile roof. Such a carrier should be designed so that it is easy to attach and detach from the roof. In association with this, in those carriers consisting of two separate carrier bars not attached to each other, each carrier bar must have the capability to be fastened to the roof in a manner so that both bars are parallel with respect to each other. Furthermore, each bar must have a proper vertical and crosswise orientation with respect to the roof. These problems have all been addressed at various times in the art, and are problems with which the present invention is concerned.
A list of U.S. patents known to be pertinent to the prior art is as follows: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,630,257 issued to C. I. Nielsen on Mar. 3, 1953; 2,731,181 issued to K. W. Binding on Jan. 17, 1956; 2,772,824 issued to K. W. Binding on Dec. 4, 1956; 2,853,119 issued to L. M. J. Balfour on Sept. 23, 1958; 3,064,868 issued to P. E. Treydte on Nov. 20, 1962; 3,366,296 issued to B. Feinstein et al on Jan. 30, 1968; 3,385,488 issued to J. Bronson on May 28, 1968; 3,638,844 issued to Bronson on Feb. 1, 1972; 3,702,167 issued to Olson on Nov. 7, 1972; 3,710,998 issued to Marker on Jan. 16, 1973; 3,836,058 issued to Penniman et al on Sept. 17, 1974; 3,897,895 issued to Read on Aug. 5, 1975; 3,920,167 issued to Parsons on Nov. 18, 1975; 4,077,553 issued to Miller on Mar. 7, 1978; 4,226,351 issued to Biermann et al on Oct. 7, 1980; 4,289,260 issued to Zoor on Sept. 15, 1981; 4,295,587 issued to Bott on Oct. 20, 1981; 4,312,467 issued to Kulwin on Jan. 26, 1982; 4,401,247 issued to Zoor on Aug. 30, 1983; 4,432,480 issued to Kimmel on Feb. 21, 1984; 4,449,656 issued to Wouden on May 22, 1984; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,158 issued to Wertz et al on June 26, 1984.